Washington state to delay assessing long-term care premiums

Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee and the state’s legislative leaders have agreed to delay assessing premiums for the state’s long-term care fund until legislators can make refinements to the Long-Term Services and Supports Act, which created the fund in 2019.

Premium assessments for the Washington Cares Fund were supposed to begin in January.

“I am taking measures within my authority and ordering the state Employment Security Department not to collect the premiums from this program from employers before they come due in April,” Inslee said in a statement. “While legislation is under consideration to pause the withholding of LTC fees, employers will not be subject to penalties and interest for not withholding fees from employees’ wages during this transition.”

In response to the glaring need for long-term care and many people’s inability to pay for that care, Washington Cares was to collect a premium of 53 cents on every $100 earned by most workers, with the tax proceeds going to set up a fund that would start making payments in 2025. The Washington Cares fund would be available only to those who have contributed.